Merpati: Reaching a Point of No Return?

Merpati Must Resume Operation Before February 2015 or Cease to Exist

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(8/10/2014)

NusaBali reports that the director-general of civil aviation from the Ministry of Transportation is warning that unless steps are urgently taken to rescue the State-owned airline Merpati Nusantara, the company will fade into oblivion of its own accord.

The director of civil aviation, Djoko Murjatmojo, said there have been no meaningful steps to save the air carrier. Adding; “The Air Operating Certificate (AOC) is still suspended and we are waiting if one year passes without any flight operations. (At that point) the airline ceases to exists.”

In other word, the Ministry of Transportation will consider Merpati “dead” if it does not resume flight operations by February 2015.

Suggestions to allow Merpati to serve the annual haj pilgrimage as some sort of intermediate life-saving measure were vetoes by the Ministry and Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR), both of which urged the airline to focus instead on trying to revive its network of pioneer flights.